Dear Commons Community,

BMCC’s original, 15-story Fiterman Hall that was critically damaged on Sept. 11, 2001, has been replaced and the new Fiterman Hall will reopen this Fall. The announcement was made by Antonio Perez, BMCC’s president. Students have been attending classes in a trailer camp hastily assembled in 2001 alongside the main building on West Street as a temporary measure.  The trailers were finally closed this month.  The New York Times asked Dr. Perez:

“if he would like — in his secret heart — to douse the empty trailers with gasoline and set them ablaze in a kind of exorcism rite?  He replied “That would be arson.”  But he did not say “No”.

In addition to more classrooms and faculty offices, the new Fiterman Hall will offer something that has been in short supply at the college: ample space outside and around classrooms for students to socialize, study and simply hang out. “This will be the first time we can give our students a college experience,” Dr. Pérez said. “They’ve been stuck in a box and we’ve asked them to come in all hours of the day and on the weekends.” Soon, he said, they will have double-height atrium lounges, a multilevel quiet study area and a ground-floor cafe overlooking Silverstein Family Park, in front of 7 World Trade Center.

We wish all of our colleagues at BMCC well in their new building.

Tony

Salt Lake City